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Vigil held to remember Robyn Gardner

Robyn Gardner's disappearance a year ago caught nationwide attention, and her family remains hopeful she's still alive.

Gardner, 35, of Frederick, grew up in Carroll County and lived in Frederick. She disappeared while on vacation in Aruba one year ago Thursday, and the only suspect in her disappearance, Gary Giordano, remains a free man.

Gardner had met the Montgomery County man online, and the two went to Aruba together. A year ago, Giordano told police that he and Gardner went snorkeling off Baby Beach and that Gardner was swept under by the current. Authorities in Aruba arrested Giordano as he tried to leave the island.

Gardner's family and friends held a vigil at an art studio in downtown Frederick on Wednesday night, where they remembered her through song, prayer and personal poems and letters. Loved ones also heard words of encouragement.

"My word tonight is simply this -- hold on to hope," said the Rev. Timothy Fisher of Walkersville Community Church.

A picture montage of Robyn Gardner's infectious smile was on display as her loved ones listened to an acoustic performance.

"I've been grieving not having her around me, but I have hope that maybe she'll come home one day, but it's been extremely difficult," said Gardner's sister, Danielle Colson Unglesbee.

Aruban authorities called off the search for Gardner just over a week after she disappeared. She is presumed dead, but her body has never been found, leaving family and friends with unanswered questions.

"I think the FBI and the Aruban authorities are working diligently to investigate the case," Unglesbee said. "But we need to know some answers. That's the problem. We just don't know any answers right now, and that's very difficult."

Investigators said they found numerous inconsistencies in Giordano's story, even though he still maintains his innocence.

"I want people to know I had nothing to do with anything to harm her or anybody in my life," Giordano told "Dateline NBC" after his release from an Aruban jail late last year.

Giordano also raised suspicion because he took out an insurance policy on Gardner before the trip. Some accounts said that policy was worth more than $1 million in terms of accidental death. Reports have surfaced this summer that Giordano is suing the insurance company to collect that money.

"We feel that a crime has been committed," Aruba Solicitor General Taco Stein said. "We still see Mr. Giordano as the main suspect in that, and also, let me stress that it's our intention and our determination to continue this investigation and to see to it to bring about the truth."

Gardner's friends and family are asking that donations be made in her honor to the Heartly House of Frederick, which works with victims of domestic violence.

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